rainbow@ihuxe.UUCP (Rob Buchner) (05/08/85)
>Or do you mean "rough them up?" I don't think that will help much, either, >since Edmonton proved last year that they could beat the Islanders at their >own game. Irrelevent. Before last year Edmonton couldn't touch the Islanders. They had gotten crushed in the finals the year before. They had a huge losing streak against the Islanders. Obviously this proves that Edmonton's style of play is inferior. Wrong. The Islanders became old and over the hill. Their decline was inevitable. The Oilers rise to the top was also inevitable as the up and coming challenger. Time was the determining factor. Time will also see Edmonton decline some day. Will you then say their style of play is inferior and they were beaten at their own game? I also want to comment on blowouts in Hockey. From personal experience, I used to never watch hockey because it was boring to no end. I do not find it enjoyable to watch teams play not to lose(defense). Edmontons style of play is very refreshing. They play to win(offense). They have single handedly perked up my interest so that I watch the game again. Is that bad? No. Thats good. They are a blessing for the league. It is fun to watch teams try and score regardless of the present score. It is fun to watch the offense test the defense. It is fun to have action up and down the rink. It is boring to have teams go into a shell with a lead. Or even in a tie. I've seen it too many times in the past. Games played like that do not interest me. What is fun to watch if the offense does not test the other teams defense? Who wants to see the puck dumped back and forth? Even if the score is a blowout it is still enjoyable to watch the battle between the offense and defense and the skills of the players. Why bother watching if you take away the opportunity for the players to show their total skills? The score should be secondary to one's enjoyment of the game. And for those of you who think defense is what its all about. I say phooey. Whats so interesting about defense when the other team is not playing offense? It does not require any skill. Skill is needed to try and stop a high powered offense. Now thats where the defense shows its true colors. Thats whats interesting to watch. And if a team sacrifices its offense in order to help the defense, obviously their defense lacks skill. I would not be interested in watching an inept defense. If a team needs to add extra men to the defense, it detracts from the enjoyment of seeing the defense pitted against the offense on a one for one basis. Next will be seeing a baseball team give up its right to bat and in return get three extra fielders that inning. Boring. Or allow zone defense in Basketball. Boring. Or disallow offensive rebounding so that the defense can prevent the fast break. Boring. Robert